I made it through the first day with the major climb. So far that was the hardest physical thing I've ever down in my life.
The first 9 miles were flat and easy. Then we started to climb and climb and climb. After about 30 minutes we reached the first high spot. Took a breather then headed down. Steep, fast, and not too many turns. It was fun. At the bottom was the turn onto Highway 58 and the start of the second climb. I was riding with Tess, but eventually I couldn't keep up. When I'm working that hard I need to take a 2 minute rest every 10 minutes. (I'd like to take one every 2 minutes, but I'd never reach the top.) Tess likes to keep pushing to get it over with. The other young riders were long gone.
After another 30 minutes or so we reached the lunch spot. Sweet, a chance to sit on a chair and rest.
At this point a deviation from plan. We were told that it might be better to take beautiful scenic Woodford-Tehachapi Road instead of continuing on 58. So, myself, Mike, Luke, Travis, John, Tess, and Sean (see rideataxia.beenup2.com) took off on the alternate route. All the remaining riders, who arrived at the lunch spot after we left stayed with the original plan.
About 5 miles later Sean and I were way back of the leaders and keeping our own pace. We could see Highway 58 wayyyyy below us. We had no idea that this route had more climbing than the original. Turns out it was 5 miles longer and had, I think, 800 feet more elevation. Reaching the top and looking over Tehachapi was a short lived relief. The down hill run had a quartering wind to fight against. Even worse, once we reached the bottom we had to turn directly into the wind for the final 5 miles. Estimated wind speed was about 30 miles an hour. Pure misery.
But, we finished. All the riders finished the ride and made it over Tehachapi Pass.
The first 9 miles were flat and easy. Then we started to climb and climb and climb. After about 30 minutes we reached the first high spot. Took a breather then headed down. Steep, fast, and not too many turns. It was fun. At the bottom was the turn onto Highway 58 and the start of the second climb. I was riding with Tess, but eventually I couldn't keep up. When I'm working that hard I need to take a 2 minute rest every 10 minutes. (I'd like to take one every 2 minutes, but I'd never reach the top.) Tess likes to keep pushing to get it over with. The other young riders were long gone.
After another 30 minutes or so we reached the lunch spot. Sweet, a chance to sit on a chair and rest.
At this point a deviation from plan. We were told that it might be better to take beautiful scenic Woodford-Tehachapi Road instead of continuing on 58. So, myself, Mike, Luke, Travis, John, Tess, and Sean (see rideataxia.beenup2.com) took off on the alternate route. All the remaining riders, who arrived at the lunch spot after we left stayed with the original plan.
About 5 miles later Sean and I were way back of the leaders and keeping our own pace. We could see Highway 58 wayyyyy below us. We had no idea that this route had more climbing than the original. Turns out it was 5 miles longer and had, I think, 800 feet more elevation. Reaching the top and looking over Tehachapi was a short lived relief. The down hill run had a quartering wind to fight against. Even worse, once we reached the bottom we had to turn directly into the wind for the final 5 miles. Estimated wind speed was about 30 miles an hour. Pure misery.
But, we finished. All the riders finished the ride and made it over Tehachapi Pass.
1 comment:
Great work Bart. I'm glad you made it!!!!! Dan
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